Nintendo has filed for an updated version of its Animal Crossing trademark in Japan, hinting towards a potential Nintendo Switch game in the near future. The updated trademark includes using the series for a variety of purposes like software for a home video game system, portable system, and smartphone devices.
The Animal Crossing trademark was filed by Nintendo a few days ago (via Japanese Nintendo). This could, of course, simply be a routine update of the series’ trademark to keep everything fresh, but the noteworthy mention of both a home video game system and portable device could mean a new game in the series might be in development for the Switch.
We already have our mobile Animal Crossing game in the form of Pocket Camp that released late last year, so the smartphone devices section is covered in that regard. Being that the Switch is both a home console and handheld device, it makes sense that both categories would needed to be covered by the trademark.
In addition to the Animal Crossing trademark covering software for video games, it also was filed to include various other purposes like stuffed animals, “game machine controllers”, board games, playing cards, and carrying cases. This could potentially hint towards more amiibo on the way and, better yet, a themed carrying case for Switch.
That is a significant hint towards a game in-the-works, as that would go perfectly alongside the launch of a Switch Animal Crossing title. It remains to be seen if anything noteworthy comes from this updated trademark in the near future.
